Cat fugue
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Fugue in G minor, Kk. 30, by Domenico Scarlatti, is a one-movement harpsichord sonata popularly known as the Cat fugue or Cat's fugue.
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[edit] Story of the nickname
The nickname, which wasn't introduced until early in the 19th century (and thus never used by the composer himself), originates from a story about how Scarlatti came up with the strikingly unusual motif on which the fugue is built. Legend has it that Scarlatti had a pet cat called Pulcinella, who was described by the composer to enjoy walking across the keyboard, always curious about its sounds.
On one occasion, according to the story, Scarlatti wrote down a phrase from one of these "improvisation sessions", and used it as a lead motif in a fugue:
The nickname was used in concert programmes in the 19th Century (see Performances section below), and was also used by publishers including Clementi, Czerny, and Longo.[1]
[edit] Influence
Kk. 30 was published in London in 1739. Handel, famous for his reuse of his own music and 'borrowings' from the work of others, wrote his Grand Concertos Op. 6 between late September and late October 1739 and the strange descending intervals of the second movement of No. 3 are reminiscent of Scarlatti's piece.[2]
[edit] Performances
Kk. 30 has been a popular piece. Franz Liszt — who had been introduced to the piece by the Roman collector of manuscripts Abbé Santini[3] — included it in his programmes in Berlin in the early 1840s;[4] Ignaz Moscheles also performed it; both programmed it under the title Cat's fugue.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Booklet accompanying CD box set Scarlatti: The Keyboard Sonatas performed by Scott Ross; see page 143
- ^ Simon P. Keefe, The Cambridge Companion to the Concerto, page 63. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-521-83483-X.
- ^ Roberto Pagano and Malcom Boyd: '(Giuseppe) Domenico Scarlatti', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy, accessed May 2006
- ^ Dana Gooley, The Virtuoso Liszt, page 179. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-521-83443-0.
- ^ Booklet accompanying CD box set Scarlatti: The Keyboard Sonatas performed by Scott Ross; see page 143
